LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 855, 2 July 1867, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

The Editor does not hold himself responsible for the opinions expressed by correspondents. Sir, — Major Lambert, last night, in addressing the Council, took occasion to remark about the Spit, and to say that any damage it might*sustain by the action of the sea should be repaired by the owners of land in the vicinity. I can hardly think he was in earnest when making such a statement, and fancy it was thrown out simply to enable us to judge of the powers of his wit and the brilliancy of his rhetoric. Supposing, however, for the sake of argument, that his suggestion was carried out, and a principle so absurd inaugurated, it would follow as a natural sequence that he and hid fellow-graziers would have to make and maintain their own roads and bridges •without tne aid of the townspeople or those in other districts. In fact it is much more reasonable that they should do so, for in many cases those roads and bridges are of no use to anyone but themselves. With the Spifc the case is most materially different. It is the channel along which passes the whole wealth of -the province. Every package of goods, and every hoof, either exported .or imported, have to be conveyed along its wretchedly - made thoroughfare. Thousands of pounds of value, far exceeding the annual revenue-, are constantly stored upon it. If the Spit was to be destroyed (as the gallant major facetiously seemed to consider would be beneficial) during the height of the wool season, the loss would carry misery to many a' hearth, and ruin to still more. Does he consider the possibility of his own flip being there at the time ? and is he able to sacrifice the labour of a whole year for the sake of an improvement in the harbour ? When you consider how largely we have all had to contribute to the cost of forming the three roads to the Ruataniwha, where one should have sufficed, and to the gigantic bridge at Borangahau, erected for the use of two or three squatters only, — I aay, when you consider what burden has been laid upon our shoulders to accommodate the few, such remarks come from one of them with a bad grace. The Spit is about half a mile in length, andi'aithough the traffic along it is so great, so little has been done for it hitherto that at spring tides the thunder of the ocean wave

; may be heard upon its streets, and the sea- ! weed scon clinging — not certainly to her ! niiivbiij pnl.rocs, as in a far-famed city, but i (i.'o<ii l j!liiii? iliii emporiums of commerce nnd the i abiic offices of tbo state. At times a boat 7> nece«sufy to convey passengers from the' custom-house to the posfc-office, and from the post-office to the harbourmaster*). It 5s a fmVmg of ail tn'iYitsuy men to hook •with jealousy and- envy upon that part of the community who, by the exercise of their brains, by hard work, by shrewdness and intelligence, and the employment of capital, carry on the trade of the country ; who, in fact, have been the pioneers of civilisation in all countries, and who have done more than any other class to extend the glory of the British empire throughout every nook and corner of the globe ; who have gained for England an empire before which that of Alexander the Great pales into insignifi-cance-—an empire which counts 250 millions of inhabitants, and which extends from the Barampootra to' the Indus, from Cashmere to Ceylon. Commerce has not as yet a sufficient | voice in the legislation of this country, but it.no doubt will some day, when a redress of its present wrongs will no doubt follow. Upon it falls all the burden of collecting the revenue. It has in the first place to" pay the excessive duties now exacted — the cost of stamps, the licenses to have bonded stores, &c, &c. So that a merchant of the present day requires much more capital than he did a few years ago, and that often locked up in dead stock. 1 cannot but admire the able and independent manper in which Major Lambert lays down his views upon all matters. I ooly fear that the fluency of his volubility, if I may use such an expression, carries him off his depth, and leads him to say things with want of feeling and want of thought. I am, &c, Consistency." Napier, June 28. Sir, — In youv issue of June 4th, received by to-day's mail, I noticed a few lines from Mr. Burton, referring to. an incident mentioned by your Wairoa correspondent some weeks weeks since. » To prevent any possible mistake, I will briefly state the facts of the case. Some eight or nine months ago, I applied, in the proper quarter, for a license to practise as a surveyor under the " Native Lands Act, 1862-65," receiving an official reply stating " that, in the absence of colonial references, it would be necessary for me to pass some three or four months with an already licensed surveyor," or something to the like effect. Upon mentioning to Mr. Burton the position in which I was placed, that gentleman kindly invited me to pass this probationary term with him ; and I thankfully acknowledge the obligation I am under to his kind offices, during this, to me, extremely irksome period. At the same time, the remarks made by your correspondent were not intended to bear, or indeed capable of bearing, the construction put upon them, and were, moreover, substantially true. I was a loser by that accident, and was, moreover, unlucky enough to have a tent, chain, and some £30 worth of miscellanea destroyed by the recent fire at Mohaka, Apologising for trespassing on your space with matter so little interesting except to the parties immediately concerned, I am, &c, Gkorgb B. Worgan. Wairoa, June 20, 1 867.